Turn your 6950 to a full fledged 6970 with a Bios mod
209 replies, posted
[QUOTE=doonbugie2;27107615]I'm surprised the Chinese have not cloned high-end video cards yet. They would make lots of cash by selling them cheap.[/QUOTE]
Chinese gpus would be like chinese psus. A fucking timebomb
[QUOTE=ShaRose;27107575]If it makes amd feel any better I'm proud with my 6970 purchase.[/QUOTE]
If It makes you feel any better I have identical performance to you and I saved 100$.
oh wait.
[QUOTE=johan_sm;27108444]Chinese gpus would be like chinese psus. A fucking timebomb[/QUOTE]
I'd crossfire two chinese 6990 timebombs anyday.
[QUOTE=chipset;27108704]If It makes you feel any better I have identical performance to you and I saved 100$.
oh wait.[/QUOTE]
If ShaRose could donate his dick to AMD he would.
probably already has
Talk about bad timing. 2 day shipping, it shipped yesterday... so it should be here tomorrow. But they don't deliver tomorrow. And the day after that I'm hanging out with my dad. God damn it.
[QUOTE=ButtsexV2;27107689]why did you rate me agree, I'm arguing against you[/QUOTE]
Because it's true and it's retarded.
V Business is retarded.
[QUOTE=CyberWatt;27113454]Because it's true and it's retarded.[/QUOTE]
no, it's business
[QUOTE=ShaRose;27107575]If it makes amd feel any better I'm proud with my 6970 purchase.[/QUOTE]
You're probably better off, considering it's rated to perform like a 6970 and not overheat or lose stability.
[QUOTE=Dr Nick;27115362]You're probably better off, considering it's rated to perform like a 6970 and not overheat or lose stability.[/QUOTE]
Meh, its always nice to get the best bang for your buck though.
[QUOTE=Dr Nick;27115362]You're probably better off, considering it's rated to perform like a 6970 and not overheat or lose stability.[/QUOTE]
My unlocked 6950 tops out at 80C, hardly what I'd call overheating.
And It's perfectly stable in games, been playing for hours on end with no problems.
Mine only gets to 68-70C, but with 43-45% fan speed, which isn't really that loud. Above 55 is when it gets loud, but it's never needed to go that high.
Anyone know if MSI does refunds? Maybe I can trade my 6870 in for a 6950.. :smith:
[QUOTE=EBS-Gamer;27139243]Anyone know if MSI does refunds? Maybe I can trade my 6870 in for a 6950.. :smith:[/QUOTE]
The flash is not guaranteed, if you somehow got a refund and the 6950 didn't flash you would be in a world of hurt.
Well if it doesn't flash propperly then couldn't he just get a refund on the 6950 and get another one to try again?
also [b][highlight]:siren: [url=http://techpowerup.com/137448/AMD-Revising-Radeon-HD-6900-Series-PCB.html]AMD REVISING 6900 SERIES PCB, UNLOCKING POSSIBLY GOING TO BE FIXED[/url] :siren:[/highlight][/b]
How much more time do I have to get one?
I would wager not much.
the article doesn't specify, it could be anywhere from a few days to weeks though when it does happen the web will probably overflow with "OMG my 6950 didnt unlock U TRICKED ME FAKE!" and the like.
[editline]2nd January 2011[/editline]
I'm kinda sad because I was hoping to pick up a second 6950 around this time in a year along with my upgrade to sandy bridge. Looks like I'll be scavenging for a used one, what a nightmare.
[editline]2nd January 2011[/editline]
Oh hey wait, since the bios are flashed to that of a 6970, would it be possible to run an unlocked 6950 and a 6970 in crossfire? I suppose no one's tried it yet what with the unlocking thing only being about a week old but theoretically it should work, right?
[QUOTE=Nilrus;27143255]I would wager not much.
the article doesn't specify, it could be anywhere from a few days to weeks though when it does happen the web will probably overflow with "OMG my 6950 didnt unlock U TRICKED ME FAKE!" and the like.
[editline]2nd January 2011[/editline]
I'm kinda sad because I was hoping to pick up a second 6950 around this time in a year along with my upgrade to sandy bridge. Looks like I'll be scavenging for a used one, what a nightmare.
[editline]2nd January 2011[/editline]
Oh hey wait, since the bios are flashed to that of a 6970, would it be possible to run an unlocked 6950 and a 6970 in crossfire? I suppose no one's tried it yet what with the unlocking thing only being about a week old but theoretically it should work, right?[/QUOTE]
I don't see why not, as the unlocked 6950 essentially is a 6970.
And they even added dual bios so you can't really cock this up.
This is some quite good marketing.
Yeah, I think this can actually be good for AMD, considering everyone buys the 6950 now :v:
Why would they make it impossible? You're unlocking faulty cores and only hurting yourself. And, for that matter voiding your warranty.
Why should they give a flying fuck.
[QUOTE=BmB;27147787]Why would they make it impossible? You're unlocking faulty cores and only hurting yourself. And, for that matter voiding your warranty.
Why should they give a flying fuck.[/QUOTE]
It might be your avatar, but I always read your posts as if you're really pissed off.
[QUOTE=BmB;27147787]Why would they make it impossible? You're unlocking faulty cores and only hurting yourself. And, for that matter voiding your warranty.
Why should they give a flying fuck.[/QUOTE]
Well yes except the cores aren't faulty. According to the techpowerup statistics, out of what seems to be nearly 150 reports only two have been getting rendering issues.
And how would it void your warranty? If the card bricks, just reset the bios before you send it back and nobody will be the wiser.
Tomorow my friend builds new PC. He bought a 6950 and i hope i can fix this for him :smile:
Just reporting in with some notes about fan speed and temperature.
When left to it's own devices, I found the automatic fan speed controller isn't nearly up to the task.
After a few minutes of STALKER I was up to almost 90c and the fan was at 37% (automatic).
I experimented some and found the butterzone, for my card at least.
For some reason, a fan speed above 43% produces an annoying whine. Luckily though, 43% is an excellent speed, peaking at about 75c load and barely any noise.
I spent a few minutes making profiles in catalyst control center, one that sets the speed to 43% bound to ctrl+alt+shift+z and one that sets it to automatic set to ctrl+alt+shift+x. So I hit the first when I play a game, and the second when I'm done.
Not sure if there's a way to automate it, if there is someone please tell.
Unless you see performance loss or overheating problems that lead to other things, you should just let it be automatic. The card isn't gonna let itself burn to death, and if it does that means you've got a faulty one.
[QUOTE=BmB;27147787]Why would they make it impossible? You're unlocking faulty cores and only hurting yourself. And, for that matter voiding your warranty.
Why should they give a flying fuck.[/QUOTE]
They're not exactly too faulty if they give a performance boost.
[QUOTE=Murkrow;27170034]Unless you see performance loss or overheating problems that lead to other things, you should just let it be automatic. The card isn't gonna let itself burn to death, and if it does that means you've got a faulty one.[/QUOTE]
High temperatures severely reduce the life of electronics.
I've had too many cards die prematurely because in their years of use they ran too hot.
Had a 6600gt a bunch of years back where a capacitor blew and a diode burned on the circuit. The fan was still working fine but it was overheating like crazy and it died. More recently my 9600gt used to run up to 90c under load and it started artefacting only 2 years after I bought it (conveniently months after the warranty wore out). There are more examples from people I've helped over the years but you get the point.
Not taking any chances with this one.
[QUOTE=chipset;27160061]Just reporting in with some notes about fan speed and temperature.
When left to it's own devices, I found the automatic fan speed controller isn't nearly up to the task.
After a few minutes of STALKER I was up to almost 90c and the fan was at 37% (automatic).
I experimented some and found the butterzone, for my card at least.
For some reason, a fan speed above 43% produces an annoying whine. Luckily though, 43% is an excellent speed, peaking at about 75c load and barely any noise.
I spent a few minutes making profiles in catalyst control center, one that sets the speed to 43% bound to ctrl+alt+shift+z and one that sets it to automatic set to ctrl+alt+shift+x. So I hit the first when I play a game, and the second when I'm done.
Not sure if there's a way to automate it, if there is someone please tell.[/QUOTE]
If it starts making noise isn't that because it's exceeded its maximum efficient speed and the energy starts going into the noise and not the airflow?
It's here! And it almost didn't fit! I had to rotate it towards the other drive bay, drop it in, and rotate it back. I'll post benchmarks later.
[img]http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o145/thrawn2787/IMG_0347.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o145/thrawn2787/IMG_0348.jpg[/img]
Pardon the horrible cable management.
[editline]3rd January 2011[/editline]
Just did a quick Crysis benchmark:
4870 1 GB (Very high, 1080, no AA): 23 FPS average.
6950 2 GB (Very high, 1080, no AA): 38FPS average.
I'll go do a Just Cause 2 as well, if anyone has any other requests I'd be happy to do them so long as I own the game, and chances are I do.
[editline]3rd January 2011[/editline]
Also this appears to idle at 54 C, and my 4870 used to idle at 70. It could've been a dust / age factor though.
[editline]3rd January 2011[/editline]
Wow Just Cause 2 (The Dark Tower Benchmark fyi). Tagged for size:
4870:
[media]http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o145/thrawn2787/IMG_0339.jpg[/media]
6950:
[media]http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o145/thrawn2787/IMG_0349.jpg[/media]
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